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Wale Bashir Adeniyi: One year of impactful leadership as Customs Field Marshal

With his towering stature, Wale Bashir Adeniyi, the 14th indigenous Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs service, bestrides the landscape of the service with maximum impact in the last one year of stewardship.

In a blistering performance which has left many in admiration and awe, Adeniyi has revolutionized the administration and operations of the NCS in the last one year in office.

The new Customs Sheriff clocks one year in office today, July 19th, 2024.

His appointment as the Comptroller General of Customs on 19th, June, 2023 by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, marked a turning point in the annal of the agency.

The last eight years in the Nigeria Customs Service have been characterised by undulating performance.

It has been a mixed bag of fortunes and misfortunes, rise and fall and tragicomedy in the performance of the service.

During those years, the rating of the service plummeted in the eye of the public and the stakeholders who were detached from the cold attitude of the top hierarchy of the Customs were not amused.

Most of the policies and actions of the service, most of which were devoid of human face, brought the agency into direct conflict with the public and the stakeholders due to the leadership style of the man who directed the affairs of the service for those years.

During those years, the officers were muffled and the stakeholders were ruffled.

Then came Adewale Adeniyi, the new Sheriff in Town.

Adeniyi ascended the high stool of Customs as the Customs Comptroller General at a time when the morale of officers was at the lowest ebb.

However, his coming, within a year in office, has brought hope, joy and renewed enthusiasm among the officers while it has sparked off a newfound love among the stakeholders who are elated over the crowning of the home-grown officer.

The fortune of the service which dipped during the last eight years and its public rating which plummeted within that period due to the rein of a non-customs officer as the head, have now suddenly sprang to life with the coming of the new Sheriff.

In June 2023, the appointment of Adeniyi as the new CGC by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu marked a turning point in the affairs of the Customs.

It signalled a rebirth of the service which has been grappling with unfavourable public opinion.

As expected, the appointment of the new Sheriff sparked a spontaneous jubilation and exhilaration among the staff of the service and the stakeholders.

This was expected given the professional acumen of the new CGC and his impressive track record in a service he had held sway for the past 30 years.

Stakeholders, especially the confraternity of the freight forwarders, are unanimous in their assessment of the one year in office of Adeniyi.

Babatunde Mukaila Abdulazeez, the former National Secretary of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) couldn’t hide his feelings over the inspiring leadership of Adeniyi.

“It is a personal roller coaster feeling for me. We have never had it so good.”, he declared when he was asked to assess the performance of Adeniyi in his first year in the saddle as the CGC.

Ada Ozomena Akpunonu, another frontline freight forwarder and a top-notch member of the ANLCA, was no less impressed by the performance of Adeniyi as the CGC.

“He could eventually emerge as the best CGC customs ever had” she declared.

Ibrahim Tanko, the Vice President, the Western Zone of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) who is also the National Coordinator of the 100 compliance team of the association, also acknowledged the uncommon professional ingenuity of the new CGC.

“He has done well so far”, he stated tersely.

Dr Boniface Aniebonam, the legendary founder of NAGAFF was no less enamoured by the sparkling leadership qualities of Adeniyi as displayed within his first year in office.

“He is a communication strategist” he declared as a matter of fact.

Adeniyi, as a thoroughbred professional in customs administration and human relations, immediately brought remarkable changes from the stiff and top-of-horse leadership approach of the last eight years.

As an astute public relations expert, Adeniyi immediately went on an extensive engagement with all his officers and critical stakeholders.

He first engaged the powers that be with his direct engagement of Mr President, Governor of Lagos state, Babajide Sanwolu and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.

He also paid homage to the traditional rulers, including the Oni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi.

He thereafter engaged the officers, one-on-one at the Headquarters, interacting with them in their various offices under the air of camaraderie, displaying a rare leadership style that was alien in the last years in the service.

He then followed this up with a tour of the commands where he met with the officers before he headed to the border communities where he made a lot of efforts to create an atmosphere of mutual trust, support and harmonious relationship with the host communities and the customs, a vital ingredient that have long been lost to the last eight years of deep-seated suspicion and acrimony that were engendered by the unfriendly posture of the last regime.

Not done, the new CGC also engaged the members of the maritime media, his constituency during his almost two-decade-long impressive rein as the super public relations officer of the service.

Adeniyi was not unmindful of his counterpart across the border in the Benin Republic to whom he paid homage in a bid to foster a harmonious working relationship that would promote trade and discourage smuggling between the two West African neighbours.

The lawmakers were also not left out in his extensive and strategic engagement as he hosted the members of the Senate Committee on Customs.

In addition, members of various government organizations and private bodies tasted the irresistible lure of Wale’s hospitality.

He didn’t leave the freight forwarders out of his public engagement as he made direct contact with them in their areas of operations.

Adeniyi also reinvigorated the Corporate Social Responsibility(CRS) of the service by visiting a motherless baby home in Ibadan where he promised to reactivate the milk of human kindness in the Customs under his leadership.

There was hardly any segment of society that Adeniyi did not court its cooperation and support to have an inclusive administration that is anchored on the goodwill of the people.

Adeniyi also thrust the NCS to the consciousness of the global community with his visit to China recently where he sold the boulstered the international image of the agency.

That is the hallmark of leadership excellence.

Adeniyi, as a versatile public relations expert, achieved a dual purpose with this extensive and strategic engagement.

First, he used it to reunite the customs with the critical stakeholders who had hitherto felt alienated by the detached managerial style of the last administration in customs.

Secondly, it used the engagement to launch the customs into a new path of operational rebirth where the new management he leads will carry out its onerous task with full cooperation and collaboration of critical stakeholders.

Similarly, the disbandment of the controversial CGC strike force and streamlining of the mushroom customs checkpoints has also endeared the new Sheriff to the stakeholders, especially the freight forwarders, who had had cause to complain in the past about the excesses of those special forces.

According to Babatunde Mukaila Abdulazeez “It is a personal roller coaster feeling for me. We had never had it so good

“Wale has shown that he has the capacity and what it takes to take Nigeria Customs to the next level.

“He has shown that Nigeria can be at par with the rest of the advanced world in the deployment of trade tools.

“Within his first year in office, he has shown uncommon courage, commitment and uncanny knowledge of customs operations and processes that are meant to facilitate trade.

“For instance, he introduced what is called the Advance Ruling which holds Customs officers accountable for whatever their position is on pre-importation requests.

“I can tell you that it takes courage to do that as no officer would want to be held responsible for his action.

“But Adeniyi has done that. He was the first CG to bell the cat on this novel idea. This shows his courage and passion to transform customs.

“Also, he introduced another novel idea by partnering with the Japanese government to establish a laboratory for Nigeria Customs.

“The issue of argument on chemical imports will be a thing of the past. This will not only help the customs but the NAFDAC as well.

“Adeniyi, in his first one year in office, has shown us that he knows what needs to be done and that he is a core professional customs officer.

“We can only pray for him to succeed. He has put on the table accountability and transparency, he declared

For Ada Ozomena Akpunonu, Wale is a professional customs officer and “we all know his rich antecedents”

“Unfortunately, he came at a time when Nigeria’s economy is in comatose. This will make his task a bit difficult.

“For instance, the exchange rate is too high and the Customs duties are equally high which have both combined to make goods clearance at the port very exorbitant.

“Wale is a team player. He carries everyone along.

“Through the deployment of his Area Controllers, he has shown the depth of his managerial acumen because his men at the Area Commands are square pegs in square holes.

“By the time he spends four year in office, he will perform wonders. The atmosphere in the customs now is that of conviviality and sanity.

“If not for the instability of the naira and the bastardized economy, Wale could emerge as the best CGC ever.

Ibrahim Tanko believed Wale is doing well as the CGC.

“He has done well in terms of reducing the bottleneck in clearance procedures by reducing the number of units.

“For instance, he has disbanded the notorious CG strike force as well as border drills.

“He is also working hard to restore the core values of the Federal Operations Units ( FOUs) of the service by enhancing their professionalism.

“He is also doing well in the area of checking the excesses of officers.

“He is also doing well in attending to pending cases such as seizures, detentions, dismissals and suspensions.

“However, I would like him to define and delineate the functions of Customs Police, FOU and Provosts.

”

Their functions and duties should be well-defined and clearly stated to avoid overlap and clash.

Boniface Aniebonam said Wale is a master communication strategist.

” I commend him on the disbandment of the CG strike force.”The interventionist squad had abused the customs process under previous customs administrations.

“We appreciate him for that. He should also take a very strong stance against avoidable trade alerts from different customs units.

“This does not facilitate trade. He should coordinate and hamonise the alert system and I know as a listening officer, he shall look into this disturbing issue.

“There are lot to still be done. However, his one year in office is well and good.

“He should, however, contact critical stakeholders and partner them by using established platforms such as ANLCA and NAGAFF to reach out to the trading public.

“His one year in office has been avoidably aggressive in revenue target and collection.”But the modern-day customs practice is not about revenue but trade facilitation.

”If you raise the compliance level of the trading public, this will lead to high revenue. He should de-emphasize revenue and emphasize trade facilitation which leads to high revenue” retorted Aniebonam.

But Wale’s one year in office has raised the compliance level of the trading public.

The deployment of one of the trading tools which is the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) is an eloquent testimony to that.

Adeniyi also showed his vast understanding of customs operations when he made trade facilitation the fulcrum of his administration.

All over the world, the Customs has duties to facilitate trade, collect revenue, detect and prevent smuggling, with none of the functions running counter against the others.

But over the years, especially in the last eight years, trade facilitation has been subjugated to revenue collection to the chagrin of stakeholders, but the decision of the new CAC not to injure trade facilitation in pursuit of revenue and smugglers is welcomed by the appreciative freight forwarders.

It is more gratifying to note that the new CGC has promised to break away from the past crude method of anti-smuggling tactics which had led to the avoidable death of officers and innocent people.

He hoped to achieve this by relying more on the deployment of technology which will maximise performance and minimise casualties.

The triumph of brain over brawn.

As the 14th indigenous Comptroller-General of Customs and 31st since its establishment in 1891, Wale Adeniyi, a brilliant public relations expert who is well grounded in Customs operations, is fast becoming a new face of the customs, a beckon of hope for the officers and stakeholders who have been yarning for a change from the last eight years of mutual suspicion and acrimony between the customs and its publics.

Stakeholders have therefore hailed the Nigerian Customs Service Act, especially Section 14(1)(a) of the Act, which states that “The President shall appoint a career officer from the Service, not below the rank of Assistant-Comptroller General (who shall be responsible for the overall management of the service) and be accountable for all revenue collections and all expenditures made under this Act”.

It was this new Act that enabled President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to discover and unleash the talents and professional acumen of Wale Adeniyi on the customs for maximum impact.

Until his appointment, Adeniyi was in charge of Strategic Research and Policy at the Customs Headquarters in Abuja.

A professional who is conscious of the need to build a solid image for the agency, Adeniyi once served as customs spokesman for almost two decades until January 2017 when he was redeployed to the Apapa Area Command as a Deputy Comptroller.

He was promoted to the rank of Comptroller in 2017 and appointed Deputy Commandant of the Nigeria Customs Command and Staff College, Gwagwalada, Abuja.In 2019, he was redeployed to serve as the Controller of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Command, Lagos where he made the famous seizure of $8.07m cash.

He was promoted to the rank of Assistant Comptroller General in February 2020 shortly after he supervised the seizure of $8.07 million cash being illegally taken out of Nigeria through the E-Wing of the international airport tarmac.

He was subsequently posted to head the Nigeria Customs Command and Staff College, Gwagwalada, Abuja as Commandant.

In recognition of his service, former President Muhammadu Buhari, on October 11, 2022, conferred the national honour of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) on Adeniyi.

Stakeholders are unanimous in their conviction that the Nigeria Customs Service will witness a galloping development, turn around of fortunes and professional excellence under the stewardship of Adeniyi.

Headlines

NIHOTOUR, NBS sign MOU to strengthen data-driven growth in Nigeria’s hospitality industry.

Gloria Odion

The National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) has signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), marking a significant milestone in Nigeria’s efforts to build a globally competitive and data-driven hospitality, travel, and tourism industry.

This partnership represents a bold step toward transforming Nigeria’s tourism landscape by deepening research, strengthening sector intelligence, and enabling more informed policy decisions.

With improved access to credible data, government agencies, investors, personnel, practitioners, and industry stakeholders will now be better equipped to identify opportunities, monitor growth, and strategically expand the value of tourism in national development.

A New Era for Evidence-Based Tourism Development.

The hospitality, travel, and tourism sector continues to gain prominence as one of Ni popgeria’s most dynamic channels for job creation, enterprise development, and cultural promotion.

However, the absence of unified, reliable data has long limited the country’s ability to harness its potential fully.

Through this MOU, NIHOTOUR and NBS commit to:Strengthened data collection and analysis across accommodation, transportation, events, recreation, culinary tourism, destination activities, and workforce trends.

Joint research outputs that will serve as the official reference point for policymakers, investors, and development partners.

Capacity building initiatives that improve national understanding of industry standards, measurement frameworks, and global best practices.

A shared tourism intelligence system that enhances planning, forecasting, and regulatory improvements.

“This partnership marks a turning point for the sector,” said Aare Fagade, DG/CEO, NIHOTOUR.

“Reliable data is the backbone of meaningful progress. With this MOU, we are paving the way for smarter investments, better training, and a more globally competitive tourism industry.”

“NBS is committed to supporting sectors that hold great promise for Nigeria’s economic future,” said Prince Adeyemi, SG/CEO, NBS.

“This collaboration ensures that the hospitality, travel, and tourism sector will now benefit from the same level of statistical rigour applied to other critical industries.”

Positioning Nigeria for the Festive Season Upsurge.

The festive season remains the busiest period for Nigeria’s tourism ecosystem, energising hotels, short-lets, airlines, road transport, restaurants, fashion, nightlife, cultural festivals, entertainment events, and local SMEs.

With this new partnership, NIHOTOUR and NBS will track trends, visitor flows, spending patterns, and workforce movement during the season to better understand and maximise its economic benefits.

This will help operators, destination managers, and state governments improve planning, pricing, crowd management, and service delivery during high-traffic periods.

A Foundation for the Renewed Vision

The MOU aligns with national efforts to reposition tourism as a major non-oil revenue source, strengthen professional training, and improve Nigeria’s global brand appeal. It also complements the ongoing drive to support personnel and practitioners across the hospitality, travel, and tourism value chain.

By harmonising expertise, NIHOTOUR’s leadership in capacity development and NBS’s technical strength in statistical systems, Nigeria is laying a strong foundation for sustainable and inclusive growth in the sector.

Headlines

Oyebamiji eyes Osun state governorship seat as he resigns as NIWA MD

Funso OLOJO

As the race for the 2026 governorship election in Osun State hots up, Bola Oyebamiji, one of the frontline contenders for the plum office, has resigned his appointment as the Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA).

Oyebamiji, who was appointed to head the government agency by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in October 2023, parted ways with NIWA in order to face his political ambition squarely.

Oyebamiji ,who has confirmed his resignation and political ambition, said he stepped down in compliance with the electoral law to enable him to contest the 2026 Osun State governorship election.

“Yes, I have resigned in accordance with the electoral law to pursue my Osun 2026 governorship ambition.”, he told newsmen.

Before his resignation, Oyebamiji has kept his political ambition close to his chest while he was still active as NIWA MD.

Political commentators claimed that he was anointed to contest for the highest seat in Osun State by the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, who was also the former Governor of the state.

It was reliably gathered that Oyetola, who lost his bid for the second term in office in the Osun State governorship election of 2023, wanted to contest in the 2026 election but was advised to shelve the idea due to his old age.

This, the sources claimed, made him to concede the slot to his political son, Oyebamiji.

Before the appointment of Oyebamiji as NIWA MD in 2023, he served as Osun State Commissioner for Finance for two terms and later as Special Adviser to the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola.

He is a successful banker, economist and public administrator.

Headlines

Documents show Regina Daniels’ abuse of hard drugs

Adebayo Obajemu

Documents exclusively obtained by this reporter indicate that Regina Daniels, the estranged wife of billionaire lawmaker, Senator Ned Nwoko, is excessively abusing drugs such as marijuana, cocaine and alcohol,

According to a laboratory test conducted by an expert and report made available to newsmen, the toxicology test on Regina showed positive to marijuana, cocaine, morphine, ipiates and alcohol at health- toxic levels.

According to Nwoko, ‘Regina needs help and must go back to the Rehab centre which she started two months ago for medical attention’.

Recall that the lawmaker had opened up on the dispute between his wife, Regina, attributing their marital crisis to her battle with drug and alcohol addiction.

Regina had earlier accused Nwoko of assault and domestic abuse. She alleged that the violence in her husband’s home had become unbearable, saying Nwoko sent thugs to attack her.

“Ned sent thugs to attack me, I’m nothing in Ned’s house, but in my house, I’m a queen. I can’t stand the violence anymore; it’s too much,” the mother of two was heard saying in a viral video on Saturday, October 18, 2025.

Reacting via a statement shared on his Facebook page on Sunday, Nwoko denied allegations of domestic violence preferred against him by Regina, insisting that he had never been abusive to any of his wives.

The lawmaker, who also shared a video showing his properties allegedly destroyed by Regina, stated that despite having other wives, none had ever accused him of violence.

He wrote: “Regina was not always like this. Her current battle with drugs and alcohol abuse is the root of our problem. She must continue her rehabilitation program, or I fear for her life and safety.

“Now she has moved to a place where she will have unrestricted access to drugs. I have other wives, and none will ever accuse me of violence.

“Regina is the violent one here, slapping and hitting three staff in the past 48 hours and destroying property, including cars and windows, for no just cause.”

Nwoko explained that he had set a clear condition for Regina to undergo rehabilitation, either at a facility in Asokoro, Abuja, or abroad, to help her overcome addiction.

Nwoko added: “The truth is, I have set a clear condition for her to accept rehab in Asokoro or outside Nigeria especially Jordan where she will not have access to drugs.

“A clear headed Regina would have taken moon to the hospital but instead she even threatened to kill our resident nurse (for exposing her drugs abuse).

“While I took Moon to the hospital, a scene of chaos unfolded at home, orchestrated by Sammy, Regina’s main drug supplier. Another known supplier of drugs to Regina is the tiny evil devil called Ann.”

Nwoko in a WhatsApp chat with Regina said ‘I won’t accept your friends coming here at odd hours again. First it was glam on Sunday night.

“I spoke with two of you to go to sleep at 1 am or she should leave. She didn’t do either. It was an all night of noise and music and all that goes with it.

“By 3 am another two friends joined you. They left the following afternoon. Again today, I asked you to go to.bed at 3am. You refused. It was was the noise of doors downstairs that woke me up. Lo and behold, you and Sonia were heading to your room at exactly 3.30am.

“You have shown so much disrespect in the past few days. I don’t know who is giving you drugs amongst them and this lifestyle is totally unacceptable and we can’t continue like this.

“It is either you continue with your therapy or you check into the rehab in Asokoro. My health is deteriorating because of your situation. I am worried about your life and what will happen with the kids. More importantly, I won’t fund your lifestyle again until you are fully rehabilitated’

Nwoko added all his efforts to ensure he rehabilitated Regina were rebuffed by his wife and family members.

Recall that Regina Daniels had days back admitted to using hard drugs via her Instagram page stating other reasons for her addiction.